Cadillac continues to disappoint me...

For decades and decades Cadillac was the true leader of American luxury and innovation. When you saw a Cadillac there was no mistaking it for anything else, it was unique. Now a days Cadillac is following the trends instead of setting them. They are producing cookie cutter cars that are less and less unique. Take for example the STS and CTS, when the hell did a Catera ever look like a Seville? Even worse is that Cadillac is spending the most time and money advertising a 6 cylinder car, cookie cutter car. I know I know, you have to go with the times and the times call for better fuel economy. But you donít have to sacrifice principal along the way. Another example of straying from tradition is the lack of individuality each car in the current line up has, with the exception of maybe the DTS. All the CTS's and STS's I see are white, black, or tan. There doesnít seem to be as much color in production of these cars. The way Cadillac is going about advertising is a whole other story, in my opinion they have it all wrong. I donít think they have the right to be pretentious anymore. The future of Cadillac to come scares me; Iím just glad that all the ones that I want to drive have already been produced and are out there. I know everyone has there own opinion, and this is mine.

Re: Cadillac continues to disappoint me...

Originally Posted by CaptainFishpond

For decades and decades Cadillac was the true leader of American luxury and innovation. When you saw a Cadillac there was no mistaking it for anything else, it was unique. Now a days Cadillac is following the trends instead of setting them. They are producing cookie cutter cars that are less and less unique.

What looks like the new CTS? You may not like it's styling, but it's certainly unique.

Originally Posted by CaptainFishpond

Take for example the STS and CTS, when the hell did a Catera ever look like a Seville?

You're basing this upon... one generation (that was more a tarted up Opel than a real Cadillac)? Two out of the three generations share Cadillac styling cues. All automotive companies use a company design theme, it builds brand recognition.

Egg-crate grill, high corners, long hood, center crease. Your Deville shares as much with the Seville and Eldorado of it's time as the STS does with the CTS and XLR.

Originally Posted by CaptainFishpond

Even worse is that Cadillac is spending the most time and money advertising a 6 cylinder car, cookie cutter car. I know I know, you have to go with the times and the times call for better fuel economy. But you don’t have to sacrifice principal along the way.

That 6 cylinder produces more horsepower than your car, and across a wider powerband. In a lighter engine. What exactly was the sacrifice?

Originally Posted by CaptainFishpond

Another example of straying from tradition is the lack of individuality each car in the current line up has, with the exception of maybe the DTS. All the CTS's and STS's I see are white, black, or tan. There doesn’t seem to be as much color in production of these cars.

There are 9 color choices. Still, most owners seem to prefer to order them in black, silver and white. There are also numerous packages and options (far outnumbering those available on the aging DTS). There is no less 'individuality' than before.

Originally Posted by CaptainFishpond

The way Cadillac is going about advertising is a whole other story, in my opinion they have it all wrong. I don’t think they have the right to be pretentious anymore.

For the first time in decades they are building a car from quality materials and earning respect. The interior in the CTS is the best in it's class. The performance available in the V-series is the best in the world.

It's the first time since the late 50's that Cadillac has had any right to brag about their cars.

Re: Cadillac continues to disappoint me...

Yeah the Deville and Seville share styling cues, but there good looking cars. The CTS in my opinion is not, its euro styling is awkward.

The sacrifice was that Cadillac is marketing a mid size car as their bread winner. They are a full size luxury car company. Honestly you could take the Cadillac badges off the thing and it would look like a Toyota, especially the older ones. Its about time they made a little more power, and they make just a little bit more than the DeVille.

In my opinion they don't come close to sharing the individuality of the older models. As for interior, Ive rode in the CTS many a time and I will say that my old 88 Eldorado and 92 Seville were more comfortable hands down, as is the DeVille.

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Re: Cadillac continues to disappoint me...

Ill be honest, I do like the V series Lac's a lot. Id just like the motor more in a Vette. I know the 80's were bad for GM.... and bad for every other American car company. I think the increase in quality and sales of Japanese and other foreign cars in the last ten years has almost everything to do with the shape that GM is in. Oh, and I have a clue about LS motors, I work with everything from LS1's to LS7's everyday.. including many a CTS-V.

Re: Cadillac continues to disappoint me...

I think Capt. does have a few very valid points...cadillac truly does not have a full size competetor to the 7-series or s-class...the 80's were hard on everyone, but in all fairness, the 90's were the intro of the northstar (despiite its problems it was still on par with some of the best), and the eldo and seville rework breaking the mold of generic caddys (and taking MT's COTY award)
I think there advertising and marketing methods down right suck....half the world has no clue that the XLR's exist, and that the v-series will go head to head with an AMG or M and not bring shame to america.
as far as deisgns, at least they are uniquly Caddilac, and they have gotten away from looking like a chromed chevy (as was the case with the 85-88 cars).
And if given the option, I would love to have the 84 Coupe deville d'elegance I got to drive in high school....yeah, the 4.1 was gutless, but it was cadillac plush & styled all the way through.
Yeah, the newer designes are nice, but i think alot of the details that set a cadillac apart have gotten lost in the mix...I truly enjoyed the loaded 07 STS we rented a few weeks ago (complete with a V8), howevery it still felt more GM parts bin then my 78 FWB.

Re: Cadillac continues to disappoint me...

Flagship cars are not money makers- they're image cars. The S-Class, 7 series and LS460 make up a very small part of their respective companies' portfolios, whereas they make the majority of their sales on the C-Class, 3 series and ES350 (respectively).

Cadillac has been rebuilding their company image from the ground up since 2000. After the failed Cimmaron and Catera experiments, they finally hit on a world class volume car in the CTS. Once they get 3 or 4 years worth of CTSs on the roads and in the magazines, Cadillac will have the credibility to ask $60k+ for a flagship car. Trying to launch a quality flagship before they've earned back the public perception would guarantee failure, no matter how good it is. Buyers will take one look and think "$65k for a Cadillac? Yeah right..." Observe what happened to the XLR. Great car that outperformed an SL500, but it was too soon- people balked at $80k for a Cadillac.

If people have spent the last 4 years reading about how awesome the CTS is however, they're going to think "Hmmm....people are always talking about how awesome their small car is, so maybe I should check it out."

Re: Cadillac continues to disappoint me...

Point well taken, and totally correct, I think at times I am just a complete loyalist....I currently own an older 7 and s class that dont get driven, and would gladly drop top dollar for something from caddy that could compete, but as proved with the first generation of "bangle butt" 7-series, people buy on reputation regardless; and cadillac still has a way to come; but at least they are finally on the right track as far as product....it would be nice if they could get a decent marketing team.

Re: Cadillac continues to disappoint me...

If you are referring to any of my posts, I never said that the DTS was the most "innovative". I said it had the most individuality. What are all these cars that look like a DTS? And I know a lot of guys want the RWD but I live in a very snowy climate and like FWD. Its all irrelevant I guess, cause all of this is a matter of opinion.